The Next Great Adventure
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: It has been some time since the last great battle and Kurama, now in his twenties, has reached the point where he is ready to embark on the next great adventure... Marriage. With a little bit of help form his new step father and his mother, he will find the perfect human to be his mate. Kurama/OC
1. Chapter 1

The first time that he met his intended future wife, was at his mother's wedding after being set up by her and his step father without his knowing it. Of course he had known that the two were up to _something_. He just hadn't been able to figure out what it was. Not even after ambushing his new step brother and trying to pump him for information.

And it wasn't that he was terribly surprised by what happened.

His mother wasn't exactly subtle when it came to _his_ so called pursuit of happiness. She had after all, to date, set him up on blind dates numerous times. And each one he either ditched or went too out of curiosity only for it to end in some hellish nightmare.

None of the young ladies that he'd been set up with were what he was looking for in a future potential mate. Besides, the kitsune in him made him nigh on impossible to please when it came to females. None of them seemed able to ever measure up to his expectations.

So he simply stopped looking.

That is until today...

His mother's wedding ceremony had been lovely. And she had looked breathtaking in the ivory and lace princess style dress that he had found for her. Not to mention the pearl jewelry that he had used some of his previous earnings as a former Spirit Detective to buy for her.

The spirit world was nothing if not generous when it came to paying those who saved the world and did their dirty work for them.

It had been sometime during the wedding reception when his mother had peeled herself away from her new husband's side so that she could search him out and speak to him. At the time he had been hanging out in the corner of the large room, watching the many couples dance together as he nursed his third small glass of punch since liquor was something that he and his mother had agreed shouldn't have a place at her wedding reception.

Especially since his father-in-law was a recovering alcoholic and having it there would present too much temptation for the man. And he would have hated to ruin his darling mother's wedding by punching his new father in the face for drinking too much.

"Shuichi, are you having fun dear?" He heard his mother ask him as he set his punch aside to give her his undivided attention and an indulgent smile before replying.

"Yes, very much so." Though he found it just a tad bit peculiar that none of the single females present were hitting on him. Still for the moment, he simply didn't question this fact. He was too busy enjoying the fact that he wasn't having to run for the nearest exit as fast as he could with a mob of sexually active females hot on his heels.

"I'm glad dear," His mother said as she took one of his hands in hers and asked, "I wondered if I could borrow a few moments of your time to speak about something important."

It was on the tip of his tongue to tease her about being pregnant already, but well, he would have smelled it if she were. Not that he wouldn't welcome a human sibling or two. He'd found that since Yusuke and Keiko married and had their first child- that he rather liked playing with the little tyke and teaching it things that would drive it's father up the wall.

Hiei wasn't much better.

Though he was less playful about it and a little more...well, Hiei.

Which was why about a month ago Yuskue had been seen tearing up the streets of their home town hunting the smaller demon after his child had somehow miraculously seemed to channel enough of his spirit energy to blow a hole in one of the walls of the Urameshi house.

Distressing poor Keiko so badly that Botan had been sent from the spirit world to help calm the badly rattled woman down.

Last he had heard, Yusuke was still looking for Hiei so that he could beat him into the ground for what he had done. And Kurama would somewhat agree that it was a terrible trick. And there were so many ways that it could have gone wrong. However now that Yusuke was aware that his child had such spirit energy, he would likely begin training the tyke to control it as soon as the child could walk.

"Of course mother," He said as he curled his fingers around her own. "Whatever you want." He said as he let his mother lead him away from his little hiding spot and over to a table a short distance away from prying eyes and ears where they both sat down.

"You know that I love you Shuichi," His mother began after a moment or so of trying to figure out where to start. He smiled at her and nodded as he patiently waited for her to say something more. "And I know that you are very accomplished both academically and at work..." He propped his chin in his hand and tilted his head a little bit. "But I worry for you're future."

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her not to worry, his future was fine. In fact since he had started working for his step father it was practically set. He excelled at everything that he did, including making his step father more money to expand his business. And his step father appreciated this greatly. And it really showed on each of his pay checks.

However he was beginning to get the feeling that that wasn't what his mother was speaking of.

"I want you to be happy, Shuichi. That's really all any mother wants for her children. And you are now at an age where, perhaps, maybe looking a little further down the road isn't such a bad idea."

"Mother...is this your way of telling me to settle down?" He asked with a wry smile, knowing very well that that was exactly what she was saying.

She blushed a fetching shade of pink and then said, "I've already done most of the work for you. I know that you didn't like any of those girls that I set you up with previously, so I spoke with your step father and he had the idea of an arranged marriage," She paused for a moment to gauge his reaction before quickly tacking on, "Only if you are interested of course! I mean, we aren't going to twist your arm or anything. It's just that, you've always taken care of me Shuichi...and now that your all grown up...I don't want you to be alone anymore."

"Plus there is the prospect of grandchildren if I go along with this and find someone. Don't forget that." He said with a grin knowing that it would fluster her to be called grandmother when she was barely forty one years old.

Shiori giggled and lightly patted him on the arm before saying, "Well yes, I suppose there is that."

"What do I need to do? If I were to go along with this mad scheme of yours." Kurama asked curiously.

"Nothing dear, your step father and brother and I put our heads together to find a nice, sweet girl. Your step father and I have already met the young lady in question. And she's a very lovely girl. Everything is already set, we just need your approval to go ahead and set the engagement."

"So you've met this mystery girl then? What is she like?"

"Oh she was such a sweet girl, Shuichi! She was very prompt and on time for our meeting, she wore a nice handmade kimono with flowering vines on it, and brought me flowers and the perfume that I'm wearing today," He leaned forward a little bit in his chair and subtly sniffed his mother, taking note of her perfume and the nice floral blend that made it up as his mother continued gushing. "And she told us up front that regardless of whether we thought she was good enough for you or not she wouldn't hold it against us if we decided not to go with her."

"Her name is Yuki Yamanaka, age nineteen. She has near waist length long silky black hair and wide violet eyes. She's a little bit shorter than you are, petite. We asked her what sort of person she could see herself spending the rest of her life with and she described your personality almost completely."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it was strange."

"We also asked her what kind of wedding she wanted and if she would sign a prenup if you asked her too and she told us that she didn't mind a small wedding with only family and some friends, and yes, she would sign one if you asked her too. Then we asked about if you had children, she told us that she would expect you to do your fair share of the parenting instead of leaving it up to her. She wants a partner in life, not a man-child."

Kurama listened to his mother prattle on and on for some time before finally deciding that whoever his mother, and step father had picked out for him was quite impressive.

Finally he told his mother that he would think on it and get back to her within a week and then kissed her cheek and excused her to go back to the party not knowing that his future bride was present, nor that they would be meeting sooner than he had expected.


	2. Chapter 2

Yuki looked around the wedding reception for the bride and groom, both of whom she had only recently met, and wondered for the umpteenth time just what the hell she was doing there. Sure, she had been invited by Shiori in the hopes that she would run into the woman's son, Shuichi. The young man that Shiori and her new husband were trying to arrange for her to marry sometime in the near future.

But aside from that, she didn't really know why she was there.

Blowing some of her long bangs out of her face, she felt her head starting to ache some from the half up, and half down intricately knotted hairstyle/braid that fell down her back nearly to her waist.

Looking down at herself she scowled slightly at the modest knee length pastel pink dress with the hand embroidered top with mint green interwoven vines and aquamarine, pink and white flowers and the layered chiffon skirt and pastel pink heels with little straps that went around her ankles.

She hadn't bothered to wear any jewelry aside from the little dangle, pearl earrings and a three strand pearl bracelet.

"Yuki!" She heard the familiar, friendly voice of Kazuya Hatanaka as she looked up from her feet and met his eyes. "How are you sweetheart?"

Pasting on a smile, Yuki replied. "I'm well. And you and Shiori?"

_"Ecstatic."_ He said with a big goofy grin.

"Well what's not to love? You've got your woman. You're new family..."

"This lovely wedding that Shuichi helped put together- That boy could be a wedding planner/co ordinator. He did pretty much everything including the floral arrangements! And that was on top of a full work load from work."

Yuki gave him a more genuine smile before saying, "He sounds amazing."

"He is. Quite so. I've never met anyone that could take on such back breaking work so easily without complaint. Speaking of, he should be around here somewhere. Have you had a chance to meet him yet?"

Yuki looked a little bit startled by the question before saying shyly, "I- um- No. _Sorry_."

Kazuya waved her apology off knowing that she had nothing to apologize for. Shiori's boy had a knack for running off and disappearing for extended length's of time. And never bothered telling anyone where he was going or why.

Shiori thought it was charming that her son had such a mysterious side.

But to be honest, Kazuya thought it was a little bit irresponsible of the boy to pull vanishing acts. Especially so frequently. He no doubt worried his poor mother sick on a number of occasions. However after meeting Shuichi for the first time and watching him interact with his mother, Kazuya came to the conclusion that the boy was charming.

Very much so.

And suave.

_Damn_ he got so envious watching the younger man work people over to his advantage. However he had also came to the conclusion that if he had been a woman and witnessed the whole Shuichi 'charm' thing, he probably would have handed the boy his pants and his neatly folded tighty whiteys within the first few minutes of saying 'hi' to him.

* * *

Kurama rejoined the reception shaking his head at his mother's antics thinking that she wouldn't make a half bad kitsune youkai when he was suddenly hit by the subtle, yet incredibly pleasant scent of roses, vanilla, sandalwood, and orange blossom's. Pausing in mid step, he took a moment to scan the crowded room and stopped for several moments when he found his new step father talking up some pretty little thing in an eye catching pastel pink number.

Feeling curious, and as if he should pull his new father away from the young lady before his mother caught him flirting and decided to remove some much needed body parts, he started walking again. Quietly and stealthily sneaking up on the his new father and the temptress that he was speaking too.

However he was beginning to think that he misunderstood the situation some as he caught some of the conversation between the two as he steadily got closer to them.

"So you really haven't seen Shuichi any? Like at all? He's hard to miss- Tall, has a long mane of long red hair, wide green eyes. Almost looks like a lady- except not. " Kazuya asked in a bewildered tone as he rubbed the nape of his neck and began to look around the room.

Kurama made a mental note to play a _horrible_ trick on his new father for saying that he looked almost like a lady. The hater. Didn't he know that long hair was back in style on men all over the world? Or at least that's what he had read from one of his mother's magazines when he had been helping plan the wedding- not that he'd admit it to anyone though.

No, he'd rather die first.

Moving in closer to the two, he continued to listen when the scent from before stopped him again. It was stronger here and gaining strength the closer he moved to towards them. Narrowing his emerald eyes somewhat at the young woman, he tipped his head back a little bit on his neck and inhaled _deeply_.

Trying to locate the source of the scent before he jumped to conclusions of any kind. Using Yoko's sharp sense of smell to help him, he finally managed to locate the enchanting scent's source and let out a low growl before he lowered his head and then rolled his shoulders before he began zeroing in on the young lady that his father was conversing with as he heard his father say, "Well if I find Shuichi, I'll send him your way. Until then- help yourself to some food from the buffet, some punch and just enjoy yourself."

"Okay." The young lady said in a soft tone that reminded Kurama a little bit of Yukina. Hiei's twin sister.

He watched her shift slightly on her heeled feet, looking more than a little bit uncomfortable once his father walked off to rejoin his mother, leaving the young lady to her own vices. Or so it would have seemed if he hadn't have plucked two glasses of punch from a nearby server's tray and continued on his path figuring that taking the woman some punch to drink would give him the opening needed to speak with her.

Finally he reached her side and calmly stopped in front of her as she had been looking down at her feet or something.

Seeing a pair of shiny black shoes come into her line of vision, Yuki slowly looked up, following the trail of black until she reached the face of the person standing in front of her.

The male in question must be the infamous Shuichi because he was exactly as he had been described to her. Wild looking long vivid red hair, big green eyes- weirdly pretty. He would have looked feminine if not for the fact that he was more masculinely beautiful than girly.

Well, to her at least.

"Hello," He said, his expression difficult for her to read. But appeared to her to be somewhere along the lines of bemused as she continued to stare at him for a moment before he startled her slightly by holding out one of the cups of punch to her. "Drink miss?"

She hesitated for several heartbeats before slowly and tentatively reaching out and taking hers from him while muttering a gentle sounding, "Thanks."

"My name is Shuichi. What's yours?" He asked curiously as he studied her.

"O-Oh. Um, my name is Yuki."

"Yuki... That's such a pretty name," He said with a slight curve of his lips before he asked, "What's a lovely young lady such as yourself doing over here in the corner? Shouldn't a beauty like you be...mingling?"

"I'd rather stand here and be one with the wall than be out there getting groped by someone I don't know and really do not like."

"Oh?" The word was softly spoken, but there was no mistaking the weird sense that there was more bite to it than there should have been as he asked, "Has someone done something to make you think ill of the guests?" The words, 'If so then I can find them and break something off of them.' pretty much went unsaid between them. But the way he suddenly turned to the partier's and began to search the room was more than enough to make her feel...well, kind of stupid for saying something at all.

"Um n-no. It's not like that!" She suddenly said in alarm, worried that if anyone else decided to come over and try chatting her up that he might hurt them. "It only happened once, and it wasn't even here. It was at my friend's wedding reception and the experience was just very traumatic is all."

He hummed and shifted his attention back to her before saying in a gentle tone, "I see. That is a relief then."

"Uh, yeah." She said awkwardly as they lapsed into silence for several moments before he asked her.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?"

"No. I wasn't sure if I would be staying for long."

"Would you like something?"

"Maybe, but not here. I was actually planning to grab something on the way home."

He hummed again and tossed back his punch, downing the whole glass of it like it was vodka shots or something and then set the empty glass aside and slowly licked his lips before asking, "How about I take you to dinner?"

She frowned and glanced up at him and asked, "Now?"

"Yes now. I've put in my time here, so no one would think ill of me for doing so. If you're game that is."

Mulling it over for a moment, Yuki weighed the pros and cons carefully before finally sighing and muttering that she would like to join him. Parties just really weren't her scene.

He smiled down at her and carefully took the punch that he had handed her from her hand and set it down on a table several feet away and then moved back to her side and offered her his arm. "Milady." He said oozing charm as she slowly took his arm in her hand and let him lead her towards the door.


End file.
